Under the Rain
by Dakk Tribal
Summary: An Archer gets lost in the woods, and befriends a monster...


South of the kingdom of Cornelia, across the ocean, in a forest near the kingdom of Elfheim. There were many monsters there, as diverse as the races on Gaia, and just as dangerous too. They usually entered nearby towns and caused mass destruction and death with little opposition, and villagers fled in their wake. Of course, the residents of Elfheim had monster patrols, but they were too few and died quickly.

The monsters ranged from the common wolf to the exceptionally rare cobra, which was the size of a wolf but is very poisonous to humans. But the one creature that was feared the most in the forest were the ogres. Large, muscular, club-wielding behemoths twice the size of an average sized man, their only weakness they had was they are not too smart. And, if you made them angry, you're best bet was to run.

That is, if it were on a nice summer day. This particular day you would have ended up on the dinner table in a cave of ogres. A storm had recently made its way through the region, and now the paths in the forest were quagmires that ended up being unusable. Only in the much more forested areas was passage accessible.

Or course, that was if you had the courage to traverse those areas. The monsters often hid there during the rains, and many didn't like the company. Yet, there was one who defied that logic and brushed it off like a comb.

An Elven woman who, in human years, appeared to be around twenty years old (she was in fact much older than that) and carrying a rather unique weapon sat upon a rock near a small river deep in the woods.

Her so-called 'sanctuary' from the dreadful rain was merely temporary, for the Elf planned to move as soon as she sensed a lag in the downpour. That or the weight of her wet clothes kept her on the rock before the storm passed completely. Every once in a while she had to twist her long golden yellow hair to wring out all the water it absorbed. Of course, the green and brown tunic would be so heavy by then that she'd have to discard it, but it was fairly dry because of the dark green raincoat she wore.

Normally, Fayth wore a green stocking cap, as was the tradition of her people, but she had left it behind because she could sense the coming rain that morning. Instead, she brought along her raincoat, which could absorb all kinds of water before becoming a nuisance. She was glad to not have forgotten it. She did, however, regret that she was wearing a skirt out in this weather. Of course, a lady was entitled to wear dresses and long skirts, but she had cut her skirt down from the ankle length to thigh length. 'It helps with the terrain,' she thought to herself. But it was a curse as well as a blessing. Her legs felt like icicles from being out in the cold, reminding her of the stories of the Lifespring Grotto where the water was colder than the northern most ice.

"But even that could not compare to this..." Fayth stood up, tying the grass green cloak up to keep her body dry as possible. She started to cross the river before her, stepping across along the rocks and making it to the other side with grace. The mud was sticking to her boots, making them heavier to lift and continue on. But of course, Fayth had expected that and welcomed it. What she had gone through up until that point had been nothing until the storm started hours before. She had been out hiking through the woods, just for exercise. Then the storm hit, adding to her already troublesome trip.

She had encountered a large number of wolves around luncheon. A whole pack, around six or seven males with three females and their pups. The yellow fur reminding the curious woman of the grain in the fields, and she followed them. Big mistake. They soon caught her scent and chased her off, right through a large thorn cluster. Her legs were cut up like a razor had been taken to it, and she ached every time she took a step. "Last time I ever follow wolves..." she thought. But an even bigger problem came across her mind, "What will mother think when she sees me like this? All wet, cut up, and muddy like a soldier?" The result would be the same, she'd get mad and ban her from going out into the woods.

But Fayth was a stubborn girl. She usually snuck out, which meant defying her mother, but she would rather be free than be a caged bird in her room. That was what she was, a free canary in the world, one that refused to be caged.

She made her way through the cluster of trees, following the river that led back to Elfheim. The rain was making a relaxing sound as it hit the water, and Fayth enjoyed that. However, she soon hit a dead end: a waterfall. It was too high for her to jump, a fall from this height would kill or seriously injure her. 'Looks like I'll have to go around...' she thought with an annoyed sigh. She took an old hunting trail her ancestors used, taking her down a number of hills and such before she could reach the bottom. But then, as she made it to the pool at the bottom of the waterfall, she saw a large creature. An ogre!

The big purple skinned creature looked as if it was playing in the water. But that would be odd, since the pool was only waist high (in terms of Fayth's size), but it was knee high for the creature. It was splashing the water around and making all sort of 'happy' noises. Fayth, deciding that common sense should prevail here, tried not to stir the creature. She hid amongst the tree trunks, trying to get as far away from the pool before she could break for it-

SNAP!

The sound of the tree branch she stepped on echoed throughout the area, and the ogre heard it.

Time seemed to slow down for Fayth. She turned towards the monster very slowly, seeing it look straight at her, then she heard a loud stomp. Then another, and another, until she realized it was running straight at her!

She took off light a lightning bolt, not bother to look back as she ran through the forest, her cloak getting caught and torn, but still she kept on running as fast as her aching legs could take her. The ogre was catching up to her, swinging its club, knocking over trees twice its size. It was gaining-

Fayth kept running until she hit what she thought was a wall. Failing on her backside, she tried to rub the feeling back into her cheek as she looked up, her expression changing to one of fright. What she saw was another ogre, one that was even bigger than the one chasing her!

This one looked at her, tilting its head as if it were examining her, and moved just a bit closer to the elf. she dropped to her knees out of fright and got into a fetal position and silently sobbed. She waited for this thing to grab her, break her bones, tear her apart, but it never came. The ogre, which had bright blue skin, tore off Fayth's cloak. This made the elf girl look up, and when she did, she couldn't help but smile.

The ogre was using her cloak like a bonnet, keeping its head dry from the rain that surrounded them. Fayth gave a short giggle, "you look good in it."

The creature looked at her, and gave what could be interpreted as a smile, showing it's big yellow teeth and a curving grin. Then, the ogre took hold of Fayth's silver bow. The elf stopped him, "na-ah-ah! Hands off!"

The Ogre dropped the weapon, and it landed in a pile of mud. Fayth quickly gathered it up, getting as much of the mud off. Then she heard a familiar stomping heading their way.

The purple ogre, the one that had been chasing Fayth from the waterfall, came up to them. Giving off a loud roar, the brute stood swinging its club in an aggressive manner. It didn't seem intimidated by the blue ogre, but Fayth took her bow and aimed at the creature. She hadn't been able to before, but no she had a good shot. The big hand of the other ogre however, stopped her. It put its hands together in a prayer, and the rain drops around them turned to ice!

The ice droplets falling all around it, the purple ogre, overcome with shock, dropped its club and took off running in the opposite direction screaming in a primal defeat.

She turned back to the giant, who was looking at her, "I must go."

The giant tilted its head again, not knowing what she said, but stood up. Fayth was overwhelmed by its size, so much that she backed up a step or two, "Um..."

She turned away and started to walk. Then she heard big steps behind her. She wondered if the other ogre was back, but she turned and saw that the blue ogre was sitting directly behind her. She turned away, 'is it...following me?'

She took another step, tripping over her own nervous feet, and landing in a puddle of mud and water. The ogre grabbed her and put her back on her feet, and she was hacking for breath. Fayth tossed her big brown gloves aside, "Thanks..." After her coughing subsided and she checked herself out again, she tried to walk-

But the ogre, with hands as big as Fayth's head, grabbed her by the back of her shirt collar and placed her on its shoulder. Fayth was a bit nervous, she had a slight fear of heights, but she forgot all that when she saw the Castle poking above the treetops. She pointed in its direction, and that was when the ogre started moving like it understood her. Fayth was very surprised by this creature. 'He's very smart, strong, and he can even be a transport...'

They made it along the muddy path. The rain had by now stopped, but it was cold still. The ogre walked slowly, but it seemed to know where it was going, and Fayth said nothing, instead looking at the castle, seeing it get bigger and bigger as they moved closer.

Then, they eventually made it to the gates of Elfheim village. Fayth saw that there were four guards there, armed with swords and bows aimed at them. She tapped the ogre on the head and he stopped, then helped her down slowly. One of the guards Fayth recognized, and she gave a sigh as he walked up to her.

"Princess Fayth!"

Her royal title echoed throughout the area, and Fayth blushed. She hit him on the head with her hand, and said in a whisper, "You don't have to announce me to the whole world!"

Velkan rubbed the spot where his princess hit him, "forgive me, but the Queen sent us in search of you-"

"And when will mother ever learn not to send out search parties for me? I can take care of myself!"

The ogre looked on, and Fayth turned to him, "Come here please."

Velkan looked at her, "P-Princess-"

Fayth was undeterred, "Tell mother I have a new friend. He'll be with us now." She turned to Velkan and gave a playful wink.


End file.
